ALBANY — Momentum to repeal the “Last in, first out” protection for underachieving city teachers built a head of steam yesterday as Gov. Cuomo declared flatly that he favors “an objective evaluation strategy for layoffs” and that “seniority alone is not the best measure.”

“I think a better system than ‘Last in/first out,’ a seniority-based system, is a system that is based on merit,” declared Cuomo, in his strongest statement yet in favor of a change sought by Mayor Bloomberg.